Bulldozer assemblies known in the art are designed to perform various functions. For example, they are designed for bulldozing a flat surface wherein the material is pushed in front of the bulldozer assembly. In other arrangements, the bulldozer assembly is designed so that a blade of the bulldozer assembly can be angled in one direction or the other with respect to its travel path, thus, directing the materials to one side or the other of the travel path of the bulldozer assembly. Furthermore, in many arrangements the blade of the bulldozer assembly is angled plus it can also be tilted. In bulldozer assemblies that provide both blade angling and blade tilting, it is advantageous to provide an arrangement that maintains the blade close to the machine on which it is mounted while prohibiting the angling cylinders or other components from interfering with structure on a machine.
In the bulldozer assemblies noted above, the blade of the bulldozer assembly is secured in a position so that the pitch, defined as the fore/aft relationship of the top of the blade with respect to the bottom thereof or as the angle of the cutting edge thereof with the ground, of the blade is maintained at a fixed position. In various other arrangements, the pitch of the blade is adjusted either mechanically or by various other means, such as hydraulic actuation. In these arrangements, it is likewise advantageous to provide a structure that, when changing the pitch of the blade while angling and/or tilting, prohibits the structure of the bulldozer assembly from interfering with the machine on which it is mounted.
The word tilt, as used herein with respect to the blade, means the raising or lowering of one end of the blade relative to the center of the blade. Angling of the blade means pivoting the end of the blade forwardly or rearwardly about the center portion of the blade. Pitching of the blade means moving the top or the bottom of the blade forwardly or rearwardly.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.